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Allocators writing small checks to the private markets

by Andrés Ramos, Content Marketing Specialist – Nasdaq Private Fund Solutions

Super-sized allocations grab the headlines

Pension plans that make fund commitments in the high hundreds of millions or even $1 billion dollar range regularly grab headlines in media publications and industry reports like our own Nasdaq Private Fund Trends Report.

While these commitment figures are impressive and capture our attention, they are only truly relevant to GPs raising mega-funds. Yet these managers make up a minority of funds in the market fundraising at any point in time. According to the TopQ+ Forward Calendar, 19.4% of the buyout funds seeking a 2024 final close are targeting a fund size of $5 billion or greater.

Over half of the funds in market for a 2024 close (55%) are seeking fund sizes under $1 billion, with a median target size of $400 million. For these fund managers, insights on allocators making commitments at the other end of the size spectrum are more relevant.

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Right-sizing your insights

With data sourced from the Market Lens platform, Nasdaq eVestment is able to surface the public pension plan investors who are regularly allocating to the private markets at smaller check sizes. Understanding who these allocators are helps smaller fund managers target the right potential investors during a fund raise.

Use the lists below to explore the public plans making small commitments across the private markets.

Reported Commitments in Q1 2023

Average reported commitment size

Private Equity

1. Santa Barbara County ERS – $9.7 million
2. Rhode Island ERS – $11.0 million
3. Orange County ERS – $21.3 million
4. Hawaii ERS – $43.6 million
5. Los Angeles Fire & Police – $48.0 million

Minimum five reported commitments

Real Estate

1. Fairfax County Educational – $8.4 million
2. Rhode Island ERS – $23.8 million
3. LA Water & Power – $37.5 million
4. Houston Firefighters – $42.5 million
5. Illinois SURS – $45.0 million

Minimum two reported commitments

Private Debt

1. Chicago Fire – $10.0 million
2. Fairfax County Educational – $20.5 million
3. San Antonio Fire & Police – $25.0 million
4. Ventura County ERA – $28.3 million
5. University of Michigan – $43.3 million

Minimum two reported commitments

Real Assets

1. Baltimore City Fire & Police – $12.5 million
2. NYCERS – $16.7 million
3. NYC Teachers – $19.7 million
4. Louisiana Teachers – $37.0 million
5. LACERA – $100.0 million

Minimum two reported commitments

Reported Commitments in CY 2022

Average reported commitment size

Private Equity

1. San Diego City ERS – $11.9 million
2. Colorado Fire & Police – $12.9 million
3. Ventura County ERA – $16.3 million
4. Oklahoma Police – $17.7 million
5. NYC Fire – $19.1 million

Minimum 10 reported commitments

Private Debt

1. Jacksonville City – $10.0 million
2. Rhode Island ERS – $18.4 million
3. San Jose Police & Fire – $21.0 million
4. Illinois State Board – $34.4 million
5. Alaska Permanent – $66.0 million

Minimum five reported commitments

Real Estate

1. Fairfax County Educational – $12.8 million
2. San Antonio Fire & Police – $23.8 million
3. San Diego City ERS – $30.0 million
4. Sacramento County ERS – $34.6 million
5. NYC Fire – $36.5 million

Minimum four reported commitments

Real Assets

1. Fairfax County Educational – $6.4 million
2. San Jose Federated City ERS – $6.5 million
3. San Diego City ERS – $7.5 million
4. San Jose Fire & Police – $10.8 million
5. Santa Barbara County ERS – $15.0 million

Minimum four reported commitments

Intelligent Fundraising

“For IR teams, Market Lens is an unfair advantage”
–Investor Relations Partner, VC Firm

The insights highlighted in this blog post are sourced exclusively through information available in our Market Lens tool, a one-stop platform offering access to underlying documents and information from public plans and their consultants, including investor profiles, asset allocation studies, commitment pacing plans, peers’ pitchbooks and much more.

Clients use this information for up to the minute insights into market trends, and to better identify prospective investors and access more granular information to tailor pitches and presentations to accelerate their fundraising and enhance investor relations.

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